Income Tax Form Filing for Corporations (and Foundations)

[JudyS]

I have learned recently that if you have a Panamanian corporation and have nothing in it but your house, no bank account or financial activity, you still have to file a Panamanian income tax form.  Apparently you can't do it yourself.  It has to be done by a Panamanian CPA.

Does anybody know about this?  The person who told me discovered this requirement when they were working on the documents needed to sell their house.  Does anybody know a Panamanian CPA?  It cannot be done by an attorney (unless the attorney is also a CPA).

[Roger B]

A CPA is better than a lawyer..... and cheaper.

 

[Penny]

Judy, don't do it. About six years ago the local CPA's were all telling people they had to do it and report zero income. Then it was learned that if you have zero income you don't have to file. The catch 22 is that once you file the first time, you can never stop filing or you pay a fine of $100/year for not filing. There is no way to get out of the system.

2nd falsehood is that you can't do it yourself. I made the mistake of filing initially and now have to do it every year. With the help of a friend who is better in Spanish than I am, I file on-line every year. The program is called "Renta" and the first couple of months it's out every year it has bugs. You just have to be patient and learn how to do it.

However, my best advice is DO NOT FILE !!!!

[JudyS]

Thanks Penny. I did wonder if that was a can of worms that shouldn't be opened. You confirmed it.